October 2011 Monthly Newsletter

Keep on top of our monthly newsletter to see what new videos and products have been added (and reviewed) and stay in the loop for any new features and contests we might be having.

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Recent Reviews

	DHS Skyline TG3 i rated this rubber to have an overall rating of 10.0 BUT my style is chinese penhold. its possibly one of the best chinese penhold forehand rubbers out there, definitely the best i've ever used (tried hurricane 3, hurricane 3 neo, hurricane 2 neo,and globe 999). suited for all types of forehand except the traditional block backhand since, as mentioned above, its not a blocking rubber, but on the other hand FOREHAND block is great, lots of control with good speed. but again my penhold blocks looks a bit more like a counter hit so up to you. Reviewed by spinfreak on October 3, 2011
	Xiom Omega IV Elite a REALLY soft rubber, pretty much as soft as (or softer) than butterfly's solcion. simply a spinfreak, once the ball digs into the sponge, the spin produced is MASSIVE, your loops would hav a really strong hook that really lifts the ball up and catapult it back down on the table. as far as spin is concerned, its just as grippy as or even grippier than any tenergies out there. the rubber clicks as if its been glued, really nice sensation. for loopers this rubber HAS the tenergy feel and a soft, soft sponge. very durable. on flat drives the trajectory is really aggressive, it has a really strong kick with massive spin. loopers, its a great looping rubber if you like looping. defenders, it's a tensor rubber and therefore fast to chop with, i paired it up on a joo se hyuk and felt that it was really fast at first but soon got control over it, not too much effort needed. very durable, hardly any forms of cleaning needed. definitely not over priced, a GREAT TENERGY ALTERNATIVE.overall a great rubber, pair it up with a stiff blade (i recommend xiom, really price worthy) and youll have one of the best set ups out there. Reviewed by spinfreak on October 3, 2011
	Palio Macro Era I had been looking for a forehand rubber that would better facilitate looping, and I wasn't keen on spending $60 or $70 a sheet. Macro Era has been a very pleasant surprise at a very reasonable price. Great sound, spin, and good speed. I'm an intermediate player, but everyone that has tried my setup has been impressed with this rubber. Reviewed by RNL on October 2, 2011
	DHS Hurricane King 655 I have played with some very high quality offensive-minded equipment over the years, including the 9th Wonder, Acoustic, Photino, and Amultart, but the HK 655 tops that list for friendly play, power, and touch. By friendly I mean easy-to-use for those of us table tennis addicts whose names are not listed in the Top 100 in the US. FYI: the HK is not the blade for the newbie; try the W6 mentioned below, then move up when your coach says you are ready. Note I have rated the HK control as 8/10, which says it has tremendous control, given the amounts of power and speed it offers. Consider I rate the wonderful (and inexpensive) Galaxy W6 as 9.5/10 because, as a looping blade, I have found none more flexible and user-friendly (FWIW, the only reason I do not use that blade is because it lacks power at mid-distance). As for speed, I rate the HK as 9/10; the only blade I have hit with that rated a 10/10 was an old Gergely, which played like a sheet of granite, with laser speed, but zero control. Anyway, understand the HK is VERY fast and VERY powerful, but WILL slow down on command; in other words, it is not at all like that old 1-speed Gergely. Truth is I have not worked much close to the table with it yet, because with this blade I cannot imagine spending much time there. This blade WANTS to play at mid-distance; because of the confidence it offers the looper, YOU want to play at mid-distance. That confidence comes from more touch and flex than I thought possible from a blade this quick. Perhaps it is the all-wood construction that makes me perceive the HK to be more flexible than others rate it, but that flex makes it possible to produce faster, more spinney, more powerful loop-drives than I have ever been able to do. I also note that a couple reviewers around the forums questioned the smashing ability of this blade; perhaps because I just recently put away the long pips (again), I have no problem with flat hitting at all. In fact, I look forward to smashing because the HK speed is far greater than the fabulous Acoustic (my former #1) and nearly that of the Amultart. I should note I play with light, very soft-sponge inverted rubbers (Boost TS, F3 Big Slam), which really helps the control; your mileage may vary if you load up the hard and heavy Tenergys. Bottom line: with touch that belies its impressive power and speed, and with enough flex to pull that loop down to the back edge of the table, the HK is truly an amazing offensive-oriented blade. Borrow one from a friend to try, then start saving your nickels and dimes. Not sure I would give $239 for it (DHS site price), but there is one retailer out there offering the HK 655 for $140. That is a very good deal if it is the real thing. Keep Swinging! NPR Reviewed by DadNole on October 04, 2011
	Galaxy T-4 this blade is very hard, very stiff and very fast (Off++). Fantastic blade if used with very soft, slow, nontacky rubbers. Personally I use it with Palio CJ8000 36 jap sponge max on forehand, and LKT pro XP black max on backhand. This is a great combination because the soft slow rubbers provide the low gear, and the blade provides the high gear. this way I have a cheap offensive blade with lots of control, similar to a fast wooden blade with two Acuda S2's, but at one third the price. This blade is so fast because it has four carbon layers. due to the hardness, it has low throw, lower than say Dawei Wavestone, which is an OFF+ carbon-arylate blade. the blade is fast and very bouncy, so if you don't use a slow rubber you'll have problems close to the table. the handle is very comfortable. compared to wavestone, this blade is faster, harder, equally stiff, and lower throw. wavestone is more of a looping blade, but the difference fades if the rubbers are very soft like the ones mentioned above. the weight is medium: about 82 grams. Reviewed by seguso on October 02, 2011
	Palio T7 good enough for beginners like me Reviewed by tanzilur on October 01, 2011

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• Impossible Shot
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• World Championship Services in Slow Motion
• Zoltan Fejer-Konnerth vs. Chen Weixing - 2010 Slovenian Open

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